Timeline for marijuana legalization bill slips in Senate

Democratic senators leading a push to legalize marijuana say they are now on track to introduce legislation before recess in August, after initially announcing plans to file a comprehensive reform bill later this month.

Senate Majority Leader Charles Scumer (D-N.Y.) — who is heading the effort along with Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) — said in a statement on Thursday that he’s proud of the progress senators have made in “bringing this vital bill closer to its official introduction” before the recess in early August.

Schumer said the bill, dubbed the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act, will remove “cannabis from the federal list of controlled substances and “help repair our criminal justice system, ensure restorative justice, protect public health, and implement responsible taxes and regulations,” among other measures.

The announcement comes after Schumer said weeks back that senators behind the effort aimed to bring a reform bill forward later this month.

“We hope to do that towards the end of April,” Schumer said then. He also noted at the time that he has been reaching out to “a few Republicans to see what they want.” [Read More @ The Hill]